Background:

One of the most influential Spanish directors, the irrepresible Pedro Almodovar is infamous for such fantastic films as All About My Mother, Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Talk To Her, and his most recent, the wonderful Volver.

Pedro Almodóvar Caballero was born on September 24, 1949, in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain, an impoverished region of La Mancha. Almodóvar is the most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel.

Trademark Almodovar:

Almodovar films tend to be populated with strong female characters and a varying cast of transsexuals. Regulars in his films include Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Rossy de Palma and Marisa Paredes.

Influences:

In interviews, Pedro Almodovar has cited influence by numerous directors, such as as Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Alfred Hitchcock, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Luis Buñuel, Edgar Neville, Federico Fellini, Luis García Berlanga and neorealist Marco Ferreri.

His wonderfully rich oeuvre of films show a mastery of both melodrama and comedy, often packaged in a complex narrative structure.

Director Filmography:

Viva Pedro (2006)
Volver (2006)
Bad Education (2004)
Talk to Her (2002)
All About My Mother (1999)
Live Flesh (1998)
The Flower of My Secret (1996)
Kika (1994)
High Heels (1991)
Labyrinth of Passion (1990)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
Dark Habits (1988)
Matador (1988)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Law of Desire (1987)
Trayler para Amantes de lo Prohibido (1985)
What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1985)
Dark Habits (1984)
Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap (1980)
Folle, Folle, Folleme, Tim (1978)
Salome (1978)
Complementos (1977)
Sexo Va (1977)
El Estrella (1976)
El Sueno (1975)
Homenaje (1975)
Dos Putas, o Historia de Amor que Termina en Boda (1974)
La Caida de Sodoma (1974)